I know we have a whole vegetarian group, but was hoping all the wonderful cooks here could give me a few ideas for some relatively easy and healthy vegetarian entrees. The less processed carbs (i.e. pasta, bread) or cholesterol (i.e. cheese, butter) the better. THANKS!! Here's my contribution, a recipe that I made up the other day to use a lot of leftover veggies that were in the fridge. Veggie Brown Rice with Tofu 1. Cook brown rice according to package instructions, substituting half of the water with low sodium vegetable stock 2. Meanwhile, sautee small cubes of extra firm tofu with 1 clove garlic in a tiny bit of evoo 3. When brown rice has about 10 minutes left, add in the following diced/cubed veggies: zucchini, carrots, broccoli, tomato 4. With 5 minutes left, add tofu and a little garlic salt 5. Serve as a main course with a salad or stuffed in a hollowed out tomato as a side.

Soooooo Agree with Blaine.... YUM. It is one of the only things out there in the grain family that is considered a Complete protein, as it has all the essential amino acids. Ancient grain of the Inca's...... Wonderful staple food in my home. Very Affordable also, if you live near a Whole foods, or other Natural Organic store. Usually those places store it in bulk....

Really, quinoa has protein? Huh...I gots to check that out.

Two words: Moosewood Cookbooks

from iVillage, here's one on this week's menu @ my house: Black Bean Paella An alternative to traditional paella, this almost vegetarian dish combines the mellow tastes of black beans and peas with the zing of green pepper. For a complete vegetarian dish, substitute vegetable broth for the chicken broth. Serving: 4 Prep Time: 10 minutes Cook Time: 15 minutes Total Time: 25 minutes INGREDIENTS: 1/2 diced cup red bell pepper 1 15 oz can fat-free black beans, drained 1/2 cup frozen peas, thawed 1/2 cup green bell pepper, diced 2 cups spinach, chopped 1 chopped cup onion 1 minced tsp garlic 1 1/2 cup fat-free rice 3 cup fat-free chicken broth 1 chopped 15 oz can low sodium tomatoes 3/4 tsp paprika DIRECTIONS: 1. Lightly spray large saucepan with nonfat cooking spray and heat over medium-high heat. 2. Add bell pepper, onion, and garlic and cook until vegetables are soft and tender. 3. Add rice, chicken broth, spinach, tomatoes, and paprika and increase heat to high. 4. Bring mixture to a boil; reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer, 13 to 15 minutes, until liquid is almost absorbed. 5. Stir in black beans and peas and heat through. NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION: Based on individual serving. Calories: 283 Total Fat: 2 g Carbohydrates: 42 g Protein: 25 g

Apart from Quinoa, I also do a lot of bulgar pilaf and buckwheat groats pilafs. Yummy ! There are lots of recipes online.

I have a one word answer for you: Quinoa Yummy. There are a few different recipes in there, but my introduction to Quinoa came from this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OrgnKJFO0o Basically, it's a salad that he suggests using as a snack after workouts, but my wife and I usually make it to serve alongside another dish in our meal (goes great with salmon but then you aren't going vegetarian) It works great as a stuffing for large bell peppers as well. If you want something faster that can be used as a side dish, cook up a cup of quinoa with 1/8 to 1/4 of a cup of lemon juice (with the rest of the cup of liquid being water) and before the water boils dump in some lemon peel. Cook normally otherwise. Quite tasty.

Saw Emeril make this recipe on his new show Emeril Green and thought it looked fantastic!! It sounds more complicated than it looked on TV. I'll let you know how it is when I try it. Emeril's Lentil Salad with Braised Greens and Sunny Side Up Eggs 2 bunches Swiss chard 1 bunch beet greens 1/2 cup olive oil 3/4 cup diced onion 3/4 cup diced carrots 3/4 cup diced celery 1 pound French lentils, rinsed well and picked over 6 cups vegetable stock, or low sodium chicken broth 1 bay leaf 2 teaspoons salt, plus more for seasoning 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more for seasoning 3 ears sweet corn, roasted over and open flame, kernels removed 1/2 cup small-diced red bell pepper, plus 1 tablespoon for garnish 1/2 cup small-diced yellow bell pepper, plus 1 tablespoon for garnish 1/2 cup chopped parsley, plus 1 tablespoon for garnish 2 lemons, juiced 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 2 tablespoons thinly sliced garlic 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper 6 to 8 large eggs, at room temperature Wash the Swiss chard and beet greens well. Pat dry. Cut the ribs from the leaves, chop into 1/2-inch pieces, and set aside. Cut the leaves into 1-inch strips and reserve separately. Heat 3 tablespoons of the olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium high heat. When hot, add the onions, carrots, celery, Swiss chard ribs and beet ribs, and cook, stirring, for 4 minutes. Add the lentils, bay leaf, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and the black pepper. Toss to coat lentils then add 6 cups of the vegetable stock. Bring to a simmer and cook covered, stirring occasionally, until lentils are just tender, about 20 minutes. Take care not to overcook or lentils will become mushy. Set lentils aside to cool to lukewarm in the cooking liquid, then strain in a colander. Reserve the cooking liquid for braising the greens. Place the warm lentils in a bowl and add the sweet corn, the red and yellow bell peppers, parsley, lemon juice and the extra virgin olive oil. Toss well to combine and adjust seasoning if necessary. Set-aside until ready to serve. In a large skillet over medium heat, add 3 tablespoons of the remaining olive oil. When hot, add the garlic and crushed red pepper and cook until fragrant, 30 to 45 seconds. Add the chard and beet greens, in batches, stirring between additions, until the greens wilt slightly. Cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Add 1cup reserved stock and remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Continue to cook until greens are just tender, 3 to 4 minutes longer. When ready to serve, cook the eggs. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium low heat. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil and gently crack 4 of the eggs in the skillet. Season lightly with salt and pepper to taste and cook, undisturbed, until the white is set, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove the eggs from the pan and repeat with the remaining eggs. To Serve: Serve the lentils in shallow bowls, topped with the wilted greens. Place egg on top of greens and garnish with diced red and yellow pepper. Sprinkle with chopped parsley. Drizzle with lemon juice to taste and serve immediately. Yield: 6 to 8 servings

Another Dal Recipe. This one takes a little bit more work, but once you've made it a few times, it becomes pretty easy to throw together. Very satisfying and special. This has replaced chicken soup as my "I need something to make me feel better when I'm sick" food. Chana Dal (or Channa Dahl or Chholar Dal or Gram Dal or some combination of these! This is really just the name for the lentils, but it's also what we call the dish since this is the traditional Bengali way to prepare the lentils.) Ingredients A cup or so of Chana Dal (You can get these at a grocery store with a good international section or any Indian or Middle Eastern grocery) - soak in water overnight (or user a pressure cooker - no soaking required). Turmeric - a tablespoon or so. Add to the cooking lentils. Olive oil or ghee (clarified butter) 2 green Indian chiles (cut off the top and then make a small slice down the length of the chile) or use a jalapeno sliced into long thin slices (use more if you want a bit more heat!) - if I use a jalapeno, I take out the seeds. I cut them big enough so that they can be removed easily at any point in the cooking process (to limit how much heat is added to the dish). The Indian chiles are pretty spicy – you can let them cook with the ingredients to add a little bit of heat, then fish them out before serving. Use one for a little bit of heat, two for a bit more, etc. If you really want to spice it up, chop up the chiles and leave them in – it's very yummy – but may be too spicy for some people! 2 tbsp of coarsely chopped fresh ginger (or more - or less!) 2 teaspoons of cumin seeds (about) 1/2 cup of unsweetened shredded coconut Optional, but really good - add some golden raisins to the saute. Watch them in the saute pan - they are ready when they have swelled up and browned just a bit. This is a wonderful addition to the dish. 1 tsp of sugar or the equivalent amount of artificial sweetener like Splenda (more or less to taste - it's not supposed to be a dessert - just have a hint of sweetness behind the savoriness of the dish. ** Don't leave this out! It really helps make this dish special!) Salt – to taste Directions for cooking: In a large saucepan, add the lentils (chana dal), a few cups of water and the turmeric. If you remembered to soak your lentils overnight, then you can probably just boil them until they soften – it will take about an hour or so. For this recipe you will want them to get soft enough so they start falling apart. I use a pressure cooker to save time. If I have remembered to soak the lentils overnight, then I only have to pressure cook for two to three "whistles" (about six to eight minutes). If I only soaked the lentils for an hour or so after work, then I pressure cook for four to five whistles (ten to 15 minutes). After the lentils are cooked to the right amount of softness leave them on low heat (stir every once in awhile to avoid letting them stick to the bottom of the pan). In a saucepan, heat the oil or ghee. When the oil or ghee is pretty hot, add the chiles (or jalapeno) and ginger and stir fry for a few minutes. Then add the cumin seeds. Allow the cumin seeds to crackle and pop. Stir for a few minutes and adjust the heat so that the spices don't burn. Add the shredded coconut and stir until it's a very light brown. If you are using golden raisins, add them at this point. Add the spices and coconut to the saucepan or pressure cooker containing the lentils and stir well. Season with salt to taste and add the sugar or splenda (just a bit). Add water if needed to get the desired consistency (sometimes we like it to be more like soup, sometimes we like it a little bit thicker) and allow to heat for ten minutes or so. There shouldn't be a clear or semi-clear broth - instead the lentils should disintegrate into a creamy broth with a few that still have their shape. If it's too watery, just let it simmer down to a thicker consistency. Depending on how much heat you like in your food, you can fish out the chiles before serving - or leave them in to enjoy! Serve with flatbreads (dip the flatbread into the soup – yum!)